Publications

This report consolidates the outcomes of the EU Rome seminar in July 2003 on conflict prevention, management and resolution in Africa and a background discussion paper prepared for the delegates by a variety of European and African authors.

International Alert is committed to the just and peaceful transformation of violent conflict. In order to do this we work at local, national, regional and global levels to enhance the capacity of individuals, peace networks, constituencies and organisations to solve their own problems and build sustainable peace. We analyse the problems in conflict zones on the basis of this work and advocate policy changes that address the root causes as well as the symptoms of violence. This report covers our activities for the year 2002-03.

International Alert's Security and Peacebuilding Programme decided to organise a meeting with IANSA and Viva Rio with a specific focus on small arms advocacy in MERCOSUR, inviting members of civil society organizations, the media and members of parliament from the region to participate. The following is a report on the main conclusions and actions from this meeting, held June 19 – 20 in the facilities of FLACSO Argentina in Buenos Aires.

Private sector activity – including both licit and illicit trade and business – is a significant factor influencing the shape and intensity of many conflicts. With a few significant exceptions, however, there has to date been little effort (from public, private and civil society sectors alike) to engage different types of private sector actor systematically in conflict prevention.

<p>This report aims to map the small arms control practices in five countries of the Black Sea region (which, for the purposes of the report, include Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine). This is the area which has been serving as one of the hubs for arms proliferation, with both legal and illegal arms transfers taking place.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

This paper summarises current debates on conflict, aid and peacebuilding and suggests that humanitarian agencies can go beyond avoiding negative impacts on conflict (‘do no harm’), to contributing positively to conflict transformation and peacebuilding (‘do good’) in a way that respects their core mandates and key humanitarian principles.

THIS REPORT SHEDS analytical light on the complex linkages between economic factors and the conflict in Mindanao, and on the possible role of local business leaders and their associates in communities or other sectors in the country in breaking these links. It also explores options for government in addressing these dynamics.

This In Brief article exams EU policy on conflict prevention and the instruments at the Union's disposal, exploring how these instruments can be used to support African initiatives to counter conflict. This article is available in French.

This report describes in broad outline the current state of formal education in Burundi, with particular reference to primary and secondary schooling. The issues of access to education and the quality of that education are examined, as well as the role of the state and donors in funding the system. The report does not pretend to provide answers to what is a major challenge for the future of Burundi, but it raises some of the main issues now facing the country in this crucial sphere.

Gender Considerations for Disarmament, Conflict Transformation and the Establishment of Human Security

January 2001

This working paper focusses on the gendered impacts of the proliferation of portable weapons which must be considered in the development of any initiative on disarmament, demobilisation and conflict transformation.

The UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects was the first of its kind, and its achievement in generating political will and momentum for efforts to control small arms light weapons (SALW) is important. Although many of the commitments agreed in its Programme of Action (PoA) are less comprehensive than hoped for, it is clear that the UN Small Arms Conference has contributed to a better understanding of the nature of the illicit trade in SALW and of the particular concerns and priorities of different countries and sub-regions. The Biting the Bullet (BtB) project published thirteen briefings on issues that were addressed in the final PoA of the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. The extent to which the recommendations put forward by the BtB project were adopted, varies from issue to issue

This monograph is a modified version of a background paper prepared for a conference that took place in Ottawa, Canada in May 2001, bringing together representatives of the Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society to discuss issues related to the July 2001 United Nations (UN) Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (hereafter referred to as the UN Conference).

This study examines the activities and identifies the organisations that have been involved in the work against the illicit trafficking of small arms following the July 2001 UN Conference on the Illicit Trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects.

The aim of this document is to highlight practical steps that the EU could take during the Greek and Italian Presidencies in 2003 to better implement and monitor the progress of the commitments made on conflict prevention. The paper is aimed to provide support to the Presidencies, to member states, the Commission, the Council, parliamentarians and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in furthering the role of the EU in preventing violent conflict. The paper outlines five key issues for EU member states and the Commission to address during the Greek and Italian Presidencies to enhance the EU’s capacity to prevent violent conflict, namely mainstreaming conflict prevention policy and practice within European Community policy, strengthening EU-Africa engagement in conflict prevention, integrating crisis management with conflict prevention, tackling terrorism, organised crime and illicit trafficking and enhancing co-ordination across EU institutions.

This report seeks to document mechanisms and institutions important to small arms control in MERCOSUR, including the two associate members, Bolivia and Chile. With the exception of Brazil, where the small arms issue is a priority in the public policy arena, and at the centre of political debate involving a mobilised civil society, the small arms control issue in the MERCOSUR region is still subsumed within general concerns over public security or citizen security.

<p>The European Security Strategy (ESS) commits the EU to using a wide range of instruments in order to prevent violent conflict. Its comprehensive nature is one of its strengths, however, greater analysis of how the EU’s “hard” and “soft” instruments will be applied during the implementation of the Strategy is needed. There is the risk that Member States will pay increasing attention to developing military aspects of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, rather than civilian, and preventive responses, without which, military engagement is counter-productive.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>